The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbomachines, and more particularly, turbines and compressors having brush seal segments disposed about a respective rotor.
A seal such as a brush seal, blocks fluid flow between adjacent components. In rotary machines, a seal may block fluid flow between a stationary component and a rotating component. In some rotary machines, such as turbomachines, the seal may experience steady state conditions and transient conditions, which are substantially different from one another. For example, the transient conditions may correspond to a start up or shut down of the rotary machine. During these transient conditions, the rotary machine may experience considerable temperature gradients, differential growth, vibration, and other dynamic behavior. As a result, the transient conditions increase the possibility of damage to the seal and/or the seal interface between the stationary and rotating components. In particular, the transient conditions may cause radial wear of the brush seals and may increase leakage flow. Thus, the risk of damage by brush seals limits their use in certain rotary machines, such as turbomachines.